All birds Cardinals and Allies
Indigo Bunting
Passerina cyanea
Here April to September.
Recorded by Chris Harrison. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0, via xeno-canto, trimmed and volume evened out.
Look for
- In spring and summer, males are deep blue all over.
- Females are plain brown, with faint streaks on the chest and a little blue on the tail.
- A young male in his first summer may be blue with a white belly.
A little about it
Indigo buntings spend the summer here. You can find them from April to September, and May is the best month. Many indigo buntings fly right across the Gulf of Mexico in spring and fall.
In summer, they eat mostly bugs and spiders, plus a few seeds and berries. They hunt for food at every level, from the ground up into the trees.
The male sings to claim his space. His song is fast and bubbly, and he sings each part twice.
The female does almost all the work with the eggs and babies. She hides a cup nest low in a thick bush, most often 1 to 3 feet up, and lays 3 or 4 eggs. The babies leave the nest 9 to 12 days after they hatch.
Fun fact
Indigo buntings travel at night, and they can find their way by the stars. Scientists have studied them to learn how birds know where to go.
When it's here
- January: not here
- February: not here
- March: not here
- April: here
- May: here
- June: here
- July: here
- August: here
- September: here
- October: a few
- November: not here
- December: not here
Taller bars mean more sightings. Most often seen in May.
How big
About 5 inches. About the size of a sparrow.
Where to look
Brushy places where fields meet woods, and roadsides with lots of bushes. In summer, listen for males singing along country roads.
People have spotted it at Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge, Lake Stanley Draper, Lake Thunderbird State Park.
Could it be something else?
Blue Grosbeak
The male is dark blue too, but he's bigger, with a much thicker bill. Look for wide, rusty-tan stripes across his wings. An Indigo Bunting has no clear wing stripes.
Eastern Bluebird
The male is blue on top, but he has an orange-brown chest and a white belly. He's also bigger than a bunting.
More photos
Where these facts come from
- Audubon Guide to North American Birds
- When it's here: Sightings shared on iNaturalist in the 8 counties, all years.